


the diner

by heatherchandlers



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Gay!!!!, Modern AU, diner au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 11:52:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8532022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatherchandlers/pseuds/heatherchandlers
Summary: cosette's skin was warm, fingers thin and pale, and they moved over her light brown fingers that had scattered scars like constellations.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for @saccharinecyanide on wattpad on the prompt: heat. 
> 
> follow me on tumblr: @moonilia

éponine worked at a diner.

constantly bustling and hot, her days could get unbearable. éponine was always getting burned on the stove, or she would stain her jeans, but she made money, and that was good enough for her. plain t shirts would always have some sort of stain and every week she wore a new burn on her arms. 

ép started working there 5 months before so she could get money for school, but she stayed because the workers were some of the best people she had met. éponine had always thought that she would meet the best people other places then the cramped back of a diner.

her boss was this man named jean valjean, a sturdy looking guy in his late 40s that treated all the workers with the utmost respect they deserved. everyone loved him as their boss, and you would never hear someone say something bad about him. (and if you did, you wouldn't see that person again).

1 month of working in this diner, éponine had met his daughter, a polite young girl named cosette, around the same age as éponine. she didn't come as much as éponine would like her to, but when she did ép could feel as if the restaurant had gotten 80% lighter. with sunny blonde hair and shinning teeth, cosette was beautiful. her presence was a warm and welcoming one, and she always cared about the employees she spoke to to. 

once she even spoke to éponine, but cosette gave up when she noticed that the dark haired girl was too flustered to utter anything more than two words. after that all that was exchanged between the two girls were waves and "hello," and éponine, as if some school girl, always happened to get red in the face. (she swore that it was the heat of the kitchen, but everyone else knew better).

one day, éponine was getting ready to leave for the night, taking off her apron, untying her ponytail. somebody passed by her, and she looked up to see jehan. "hey, i'm going to leave. goodnight." he said softly, rubbing his eyes. 

éponine nodded, "night." she muttered, continuing to put away things. when she was putting away a napkin holder in a drawer closer to the floor, jehan spoke again, "oh yeah, cosette is coming to pick something up, so don't freak out when you hear her come in."

éponine froze for a second. "cosette?" she asked softly, lifting herself up.

"yeah." jehan confirmed, and she could hear the door creaking open. 

"o-okay. cool." éponine said, and she scratched the back of her head, facing a wall. she heard the door close behind her. jehan had left.

éponine organized somethings more before leaning on a table, checking if she had done everything she was supposed to. biting her nails, she went over the checklist in her mind. 

right when she was sure she did everything and straightened, she heard a muffled clatter and someone yell, "fuck!" from the kitchen. 

éponine stared at the closed door with the words "employees only," printed on it. eventually, she forced herself to move and open the door. the door creaked open, and from a little crack of the door, she saw a girl on the floor, holding her wrist. éponine could only see the back of her head and her back, blonde hair in a french braid and a patterned sweater. she immediately recognized the girl as cosette, and she steeled herself to confront her. 

she's going to have to enter, and so she opened the door wider and began, "are you okay—" 

cosette interrupted her with a hiss. 

éponine paused, still staring at her back. cosette glanced back at her, then looked back at whatever she was doing.

the brunette walked over to stand in front of her. the floor was shiny and wet, and cosette was sitting by the stove that had a tiny red light beside printed words that said, "surface is hot."

"did you burn yourself?" éponine asked, and lowered herself to her knees in front of her. 

"what?" cosette looked up at her, and éponine tried to not coil away from her eyes. they were bright and blue, sharp and assessing. "oh, well yeah," cosette lowered her head to her wrist, and éponine saw her shoulders relax a little bit. 

éponine gently took her hand, and when cosette flinched away, the darker girl felt herself go red. "can i see?" éponine asked softly. cosette let out a tiny sigh, and she outstretched her wrist to éponine. the burn was red and looked like a really bad sun burn had happened on only her wrist. it was a harsh contrast to her pale skin. 

"it's not that bad." éponine said, looking back up at her. "it's just a first degree burn. i get those all the time." 

cosette nodded slowly. "it hurts though," 

"of course." éponine got up, letting go of her hand. she gestured for cosette to get up as well.

the blonde got up too, still looking at éponine. the darker girl fidgeted under her gaze. "well, um, you need to pour cool water on your burn to reduce swelling, and i have some aloe vera in my bag." 

"okay."

éponine flashed her a tight smile before shifting her gaze away. 

there was a small moment of awkward silence, where cosette continued to stare at éponine, and éponine stared at a wall before she broke the silence with, "you should really go treat that," head tilting to the direction of her arm. 

cosette's face became red, strokes of pink and peach high on her cheeks. lowering her head, fair hair fell over her face. "y-yes." 

éponine watched as she moved to the sink, turned it on and put her wrist under it. éponine quickly left to get her bag, and returned with aloe vera. cosette turned to her and éponine silently rubbed the cream on. once she was done treating her, ép said, "at home put on a bandage. it'll heal soon enough."

"thanks." cosette muttered silently, and éponine found herself still holding cosette's hand, looking up at her. she looked back, brown eyelashes brushing her cheek bones whenever she blinked.

cosette's skin was warm, fingers thin and pale, and they moved over her light brown fingers that had scattered scars like constellations. cosette intertwined their hands together gracefully. "thank you." cosette repeated, and lifted éponine's hand to her mouth. éponine's breath hitched as cosette pressed rosy lips to the back of ép's hand. 

'that's not straight!!!!' éponine's mind screeched, and her eyes kept flickering to cosette's blue ones, and to her hand in her's.

suddenly, cosette dropped éponine's hand and the loss of warmth from the girl almost made her weep. 

cosette looked down, then up again. a smile spread on her face like butter, and she chirped, "i'll see you around!" 

éponine watched her go, looking like a deer caught in headlights, and once cosette had left the room. eponine almost began screaming. she jumped up, pumped her arms, kicked her legs, in a weird looking dance. she couldn't believe that just happened. 

once she calmed down she got her bag and jacket. after stepping outside of the diner and locking it, she turned around and breathed in the cool air. the night kissed her warm cheeks and she sighed, and whispered to herself, chuckling, "i'm never washing my hand ever again."


End file.
